2 abalone divers die in Sonoma County in 2 days

SAN FRANCISCO 
Two abalone divers have died while searching for abalone along a rugged and remote stretch of the Sonoma County coast in as many days, authorities said Friday.

Jeffrey Facendini, 44, of Santa Rosa, died Friday after his diving partner found him face down in the water as the two men searched for the mollusk in a cove near Fort Ross State Historic Park, Sonoma County sheriff's officials said.

Facendini died despite what Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Thompson described as a "valiant effort" by his diving partner to summon help and try to save him.

The diving partner, who has not been named, pulled the stricken Facendini out of the water, scrambled up to the top of a bluff, hiked about a-quarter mile to Highway 1 and flagged down a California State Parks employee who was driving by on the highway, Thompson said.

When a Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter crew arrived, medical emergency crews were lowered by rope and attempted to revive Facendini, but he was pronounced dead at the scene around 10:47 a.m., Thompson said.

The death of Facendini on Friday comes after Jason Chak Yin Cheung, 42, of South San Francisco died Thursday while searching for abalone about "6 or 7 miles south," Thompson said.

"The second death was very, very similar," Thompson said. "Both are deeply tragic," he said.

Harvesting, or diving for abalone, involves a degree of risk because divers are not allowed to use scuba-diving breathing equipment. The remoteness of popular diving areas adds to the danger, according to Thompson.

Fort Ross Historic Park is located in a sparsely populated area, about 20 miles north, by a narrow and winding Highway 1, from the tiny community of Jenner.

"Given these remote areas, that's one of the struggles," Thompson said. "Should something go wrong, you're not very close to help," he said.

The cause of death has not been determined for either Facendini or Cheung, according to Sonoma County coroner's forensics assistant Esmeralda Shields.

Coroner's officials plan on conducting an autopsy on Facendini's body Monday, while Cheung's cause of death is pending, said Shields.